BNSF selling us nothing but a pig in a poke
It isn’t what NSFB is saying, it is what it is not saying. I’ve read the last two full page ads in the Bee by the BNSF people and have done the background research. Here is what they do not say:
1. They do not put numbers on the increase in train traffic but rather dismiss the issue by saying it is “demand driven.” The increase in train traffic is the entire issue. Increased traffic means increased noise, increased vibration, increased traffic waits at crossings, increased chance of a spill. It’s called statistics and we have seen exactly zilch from BNSF about the expected traffic, either now or ten years from now. To all adults reading this: what is the message when someone doesn’t want to tell you a bad fact about for instance, a used car or the actual tasks a job entails, etc? Or how about when your kid gets in a fender bender in the family car? Get the full story first time? Is it good or bad when a huge company fails to tell you an important fact? Do not kid yourself, the increase in train traffic is everything. And we have heard nothing from BNSF about this;
2. BNSF does not discuss the economic impact on Sandpoint and greater Bonner County, as opposed to the Pacific Northwest. Sandpoint’s future, at least for now, is in tourism, agriculture and small volume manufacturing. Before you get all worked up, think about the sources of income for the community. Once a family feud took out Coldwater Creek and the environmental interests won the logging/mining battles, what else is there? We have a lot of very industrious, talented people here but they need jobs. We can’t keep selling grande lattes, home improvement supplies and life insurance to each other to maintain an economy. We need outside sources of income. Right now the main one is tourism and income from summer owners — at least according to the (meager) statistics. Take away the out-of-town money and a significant portion of Sandpoint’s population is on food stamps in a couple of years. Someone has to buy all the arts, crafts, organic vegetables and handmade furniture.
3. What happens when BNSF starts running a train every 15 minutes through downtown? Would you buy a house or townhouse with a freight train as your nearest neighbor, especially a seven-figure house? You will hear and feel the incoming, the outgoing and the current train all day long, every day. For those of us that live within 1,500 yards of the track or so, the vibration will be constant. That means the concrete foundations of our homes and businesses will feel it every day. How long before stress cracks start appearing?
4. I read the advertisements by BNSF. I’m a practicing attorney so I tend to read things very closely. There are numbers thrown out about how much BNSF will profit, and how much the Pacific Northwest will profit. Please tell me where it says Sandpoint or Bonner County will profit? It won’t, because we are not a processing center or a loading or transfer center. The railroad goes right through us and with the exception of the occasional Amtrak passenger stop, none of trains “does business” with anyone here. How many people in Bonner County are employed by the railroad?
5. With all these problems, what has BNSF done to explore other relocation possibilities? Nothing. Pull up your Goggle map and look at the railway crossings and paths throughout the area. Why is there a need to go straight through downtown? Please check out all the alternate routes that BNSF could have taken around the beach and downtown. I am no railroad engineer but I have eyes and can see that there are at least three split-off points where the track could by-pass Sandpoint all together. I have not heard word one about alternative routes. I surmise that splitting off sooner costs more so there has been exactly zero interest by BNSF in exploring alternatives. And, in response to some who question the need, the current, established right-of-way for each line is sufficient for two lines. It was designed that way. No one will be taking anyone’s property to run a second line around downtown.
5. We are being sold a pig in a poke. The person spearheading this is a paralegal hired by BNSF who has been employed as a spokesperson for the oil industry and now the railroad all his life. He lives in North Dakota and, at least according to his Linked-In bio, has no financial or other interest in Bonner County. I believe you’ll also find he has zero engineering or planning skills to count on to plan your future. And yet that is exactly what his group is attempting to do. If you think I’m some kind of lib/prog all about limiting progress, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve spent the past thirty-five years defending the auto, marine and RV industry in product liability cases. I have a home in Sandpoint. I love this town and this county. I do not want to see it destroyed just because some company thinks it can.
This is a terrible deal for the people of Sandpoint. BNSF has zero interest in us. We gain nothing. We are being played for the fool. Help us stop this nonsense.
GREGORY A. ANDERSON
Sandpoint